Tag: manipur

Women empowerment can make a qualitative change

By Flora Remei ”When the woman moves forward, the family moves, the village moves and the nation moves” -Jawaharlal Nehru The excerpt from Nehru’s writings, cited above, holds the ground

Flora_PhotoBy Flora Remei

”When the woman moves forward, the family moves, the village moves and the nation moves”

-Jawaharlal Nehru

The excerpt from Nehru’s writings, cited above, holds the ground amongst many. Undeniably, women’s contribution make a society whole and perfect. Many believe that a woman is a bridge across generations and hearts. Alas! Despite the heroic roles that women had played in the history and the present, women are the victims of patriarchal subjection and male chauvinism.

It is believed that egalitarianism was the norm of social relation in the primitive societies. Before the birth of the pairing marriage, family and private property; women were socially powerful as they enjoyed absolute mother’s right over the children. However, with the changing modes of production, when physical strength began to play important roles in war, production, booty capturing, and accumulation of private property; under the male dominated marriage and family systems, women gradually lost their prominence. Patriarchal values began to predominate and women are being treated as the property of men. A woman’s body began to be defined, either chastity or pollution began to be measured, and the price or value of her body began to be determined on the basis of the patriarchal notion of an ideal womanhood.

Overtime, the patriarchal notion of womanhood became engraved in the social perceptions and it relegated women to the subservient position in a hierarchically gendered social order. The societal spaces and relations, including politics and religion, began to reflect and reinforce women’s subjugation— more often than rapes and commodification of women are the denial of material benefits and other choices. These became common symptoms of a greater rot lying beneath the social superstructures. All these suggest betrayal of the ‘expected’ trust towards the other half of human composition that is constituted by the women. All these reflect a systematic rot that prevent the society from achieving true progress and all-round development.

In the present Manipur society that we live in; women’s safety, defined in the broader sense, is still an elusive touchstone, although many try to portray the prevalence of egalitarian ethos and practices. Certain moribund and decadent patriarchal thoughts and practices that enslave and threaten the dignity of women continue to operate. Women are being looked down upon as sexual objects to fulfill the unrestrained sexual lust of the men. News of rape and violence on women became the frequent headlines in the media. The patriarchal notion of women’s chastity created prolonged traumatic effects upon the rape victims, as they are being always condemned as the polluted body whose value have been degraded considerably. In other words, male sexual lust and aggression inter played with the patriarchal notion of either ideal womanhood or polluted; and it created insecurity to the women in various ways. She fears for the physical safety and social well-being, from the ruthless force of decadent customs, traditions and attitudes that undermined and subjected women.

The subjection of women under the patriarchal norms is structurally rooted in the relation of production that either confined women in the domestic premise of the men or reduced them into some form of domestic slavery. Their subjection in the relation of production makes them difficult to overcome the patriarchal restrictions superimposed on them. This structural bias misplaces women from the rightful place where they wanted to be, as human beings inspired by the progressive ideals of liberty and full-fledged empowerment in all aspects of livelihood. In other words, the structural bias prevents the women from the full growth of their physical, moral and intellectual temperaments. As a result; many women remain suffering from illiteracy, poverty, malnutrition and lack of choices. They enjoy little freedom for their creative self-development and growth.

Women needed empowerment? Who will do it, when and in what ways; are some of the questions that progressive women have been raising for many years. Many women believe that empowerment is a positive and multidimensional ideal. This ideal implies opening up of opportunity avenues towards the promotion of women’s self-confidence and the ability to determine the course and quality of their lives. This calls for a multi-layered approach, in order to achieve a structural overhaul. Firstly, the priority is to ensure proper education of women along progressive lines. Progressive education will increase a woman’s awareness, her choice and the abilities to take advantage of available opportunities. Secondly, in the meanwhile, proper education must be accompanied by opening up of public spaces for women. There should be proportionately equal representation of women in governance and decision making process that affect them. Thirdly, women must also enjoy society’s material and moral resources. There should be an initiative towards bringing an end to the evil practices like domestic violence and other forms of subjection. It would involve gradual demolition of the patriarchal value system. But, this attitudinal change requires a multi-layered social campaign. To achieve it, children at the school must be taught about the value of gender equality. Apart from the schools, the values of respect for women must be fostered and nurtured in the family domain.

Finally, humanity is like a bird. A bird needs both the wings to fly high into the sky. Likewise, a society becomes wholesome and progressive when gender equality is respected and valued. The society will grow only when women that constitute half of humanity, could contribute at par with men in all aspect of social relations and productions. Equality will bring balance and progress; as it will ensure a new strength that will be founded on the basis of the lived experience of fairness and mutual consensus. A common psychological make-up guided by the virtue of empathy will make this world a better place for all.

This article was sent to Kanglaonline by Flora Remei. She’s doing BA(Hon) Philosophy 3rd Year, Miranda House, Delhi University. She can be contacted at floraremei2013(at)gmail(dot)com

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/women-empowerment-can-make-a-qualitative-change/

Joint statement circulated on the occasion of the PROTEST AGAINST BRUTALITY OF STATE FORCES AND TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE OF MANIPUR FROM DEMOGRAPHIC INVASION

INDIA: Manipur   Joint Statement Opinions against the Ongoing Indefinite Curfew in Manipur 11th July 2015   In Manipur, there has been a democratic movement to safeguard the rights of

INDIA: Manipur
 
Joint Statement
Opinions against the Ongoing Indefinite Curfew in Manipur
11th July 2015
 
In Manipur, there has been a democratic movement to safeguard the rights of the indigenous peoples. The incumbent regime in the State led by Mr Okram Ibobi has acted contrary to the democratic and legitimate demands of the movement for Inner Line Permit System and the recommendations of the All Political Parties Committee on ILPS (2014). There was a deliberate attempt to protect the interest of the migrant outsiders by arbitrarily passing a bill known as the Manipur Regulation of Visitors, Tenants and Migrant Workers’ Bill 2015, which has not received the assent of the Governor. There were attempts to suppress, at gun point, the protests against the Bill and the popular movement to defend the rights of the indigenous peoples. Brutal police actions have inflicted casualty on several persons. A 16-year old student named Sapam Robinbood, participating in a rally, was killed by the police on July 8, 2015. In order to suppress popular demonstrations against the brutality, the Government immediately imposed an indefinite curfew in the two central districts of Imphal Valley and closed all the educational institutions. Defying the curfew, people came out in the streets of Imphal in great numbers. The police resorted to open aggressive and disproportionate use of force in the form of torture, and cruel and inhuman degrading treatment, indiscriminate use of tear gas and rubber bullets, firing of live rounds upon the protestors and arbitrary detentions with impunity.
 
It is against this backdrop that we are coming up with a joint statement under the title Opinion against the Ongoing Curfew in Manipur.
 
Government and curfew
 
  1. There has been unrestrained population invasion by outsiders under the policy and constitutional framework of the Government of India that ostensibly allows free movement of people within the country. The outsiders are enjoying virtual monopoly over commodity and the labour markets of Manipur. On the other hand, the military and corporate and private sector partnership projects have been forcibly taking control of the land and resources without any regulation and restraint. In this situation, it is natural that the indigenous peoples began to take up the initiatives towards defending their identity, market, livelihoods, land and other resources.
 
  1. The question of defending the rights of the indigenous peoples is a political question that is intricately founded in the context of a worsening socio-economic condition and progressive cultural annihilation. It is the responsibility of a democratic government to bring a political solution to this question. However, the puppet Manipur regime, which functions under the command of the federal Indian pro-corporate and private sector regime, indulge in suppressing this question under the barrel of a gun.
 
  1. Why is the government indifferent to the universal principle of defending the rights of the indigenous peoples? The government is determined in using curfew to suppress the popular movements to defend the indigenous peoples and the agitations against the summary killings, torture and arbitrary detentions. This predisposition exposes the government as an authoritarian regime of a violent and radical right-wing clique that relies on the gun as the backbone of its enterprise against the people, at the cost of democracy. Judging by the nature of State terrorism, the Government remains the real enemy of democracy.
 
Police and Curfew
 
  1. The perception is that the Manipur police is meant for ensuring the security of the people; in fact the regime constantly refers to them as “security personnel”. Those who are employed in this sector are recruited from amongst our citizens, the majority from poor families. The expenditure of their salary, uniforms and weapons are being paid out of the taxes collected from the people including themselves. However, in the past instances and in the present situation, the police have forgotten that they are the citizens of our motherland and have acted brutally. Instead of serving the peoples, they have been converted into a mercenary force of the terrorizing clique that runs the Government.
 
  1. During the curfew, the Manipur police and its auxiliary forces the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) and Village Defense Force (VDF) have been acting like agents of terror without any restraint. In the name of controlling crowd, which they referred to as “mob control”, they have intentionally violated the standard norms of using ‘firearms’, and have indulged in the widespread use of live bullets, rubber bullets, mock bombs and tear smoke shells with the intention to inflict injury and to kill. The deliberate baton attacks, brutal beatings and firing upon unarmed civilians who were on the run exemplify their terrorist character.
 
  1. We want to raise some questions to the Manipur police. Aren’t you natives of our motherland, born of the same mothers? Do you really think that there is no share for you in this movement to defend the indigenous peoples? Are you supportive the stand to act against the movement of the indigenous peoples to defend their culture, land and livelihood? Being persuaded by the oppressive cliques and opportunism for a small government salary, promotion and misuse of weapons; how long will you remain standing against legitimate democratic movements concerning our motherland?
 
Curfew and economic burdens
 
  1. The immediate tactics of closing down educational institutions and using curfew to suppress the agitation have converted the Greater Imphal area into a war field. Deployment of several rabble rousing police gangs in strategic locations and corners of Imphal has caused obstructions to the free movement of peoples. They indulged in unprovoked baton charging, firing rubber bullets and tear smoke shells on anyone either coming out of a gate or walking on a street. Tear smoke shells have been lobbed into homes too.
 
  1. The government, instead of bringing a political solution, has spent huge amounts of money in the war effort. Huge amounts from the public exchequer are spent on fuel for bullet proof and armoured vehicles, live ammunition, rubber bullets, mock bombs and tear smoke shells. The government is a favoured customer in the burgeoning market to suppress dissent. When the lack of interest to bring a political solution to vital issues and problems culminated into silencing of democratic voice by spending huge amount of money in war expenditure, whose loss is it? Is this money paid out of the wage labour of those who run the government? No! They do not work with the hands and feet to earn their livelihoods. They exploit peoples and misappropriate public fund to accumulate their wealth. The public fund that they misuse comes from the taxes paid by those who work with labour. Should we agree with this ugly trend of wasting our money to wage war against the people, when it could instead be used for economic production and growth?
 
  1. The war against the people, as other facet of curfew, has created a big onslaught on their free movement and the local economy. The imposition of the curfew in the central areas of Manipur has not only created obstructions to those who live in those areas, but also on those who earn through daily commuting from the peripheries and those who have to pass through the central areas to reach other destinations on a daily basis. In that sense the curfew has extensive impacts similar to a blockade on the economy and transportation all over Manipur.
 
  1. The curfew has imposed a big burden on those who are dependent on the Imphal market for their daily consumption. It seriously affected the petty traders who are dependent on the local market for commodity exchange. The marginal labourers who are in search of daily work are badly affected because of the restrictions to free movement. Who will compensate for the loss incurred on the family income due to the obstructions caused by the curfew? If these burdens of the people have not been addressed by those who accumulate huge money through corrupt means and who are enjoying the blessings of the authoritarian regime; it only obviates the fact that they are profiting from oppressing the people and are never for their welfare.
 
The authoritarian regime knows the aspiration of the exploited and oppressed peoples. But, it does want to address it at the cost of the vested interests of the rulers. Therefore, there is no need of repeatedly conveying the aspirations of the people to them. For several years the peoples have been bearing the burdens of the ugly corrupt model of governance and the tactics of suppression of the democratic voices at gun point. We strongly condemn all these models and tactics.
 
Statement endorsed by:
1.      Akhu Chingangbam, Imphal Talkies.
2.      Amit Bhattacharyya, Secretary General, Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners.
3.      Anthony Moirangthem, President, Manipur Students Association Pune.
4.      Dina Oinam, President, Women Empowerment and Child Development Organization (Manipur).
5.      Dr. George T. Haokip, Chairperson, Institute Alternative India.
6.      Ishan Chandam, League of the Proletarian Students of Manipur.
7.      Jiten Yumnam, Centre for Research and Advocacy Manipur.
8.      L. Bijendra khuman, Social Welfare Club Mayang Imphal.
9.      Luikang Lamak, Ex-President, Naga Students’ Union. Delhi.
10.  Malem Ningthouja, Campaign for Peace & Democracy (Manipur).
11.  Padam Kumar, Worker’s Unity Trade Union.
12.  Priyobata Irengbam, Manipur Students’ Association Delhi.
13.  Roy Laifungbam, Civil Society Coalition for Human Rights In Manipur and UN [Members are: All Manipur Nupi Manbi Association; Centre for Organisation Research & Education; Centre for Research and Advocacy, Manipur; Citizens Concern for Dams and Development; Civil Liberties and Human Rights Organisation; Civil Liberties Protection Forum; Committee on Human Rights, Manipur; Community Network for Empowerment; Extra-judicial Execution Victim Families’ Association Manipur; Families of the Involuntarily Disappeared’s Association Manipur; Forum for Indigenous Perspectives and Action; Human Rights Alert; Human Rights Defenders Manipur; Human Rights Initiative; Human Rights Law Network Manipur; Human to Humane Transcultural Centre for Trauma and Torture Victims; Just Peace Foundation; Life Watch; Manipur Alliance for Child Rights; Movement for Peoples’ Right to Information Manipur; North East Dialogue Forum; Threatened Indigenous Peoples Society; United Peoples Front.]
14.  Sanayairanchan Kshetrimayum, Manipur Alert.
15.  Sapam Shyamsunder, Irabot Research and Commemoration Committee.
16.  Vijay Singh, Editor, Journal Revolutionary Democracy.
 
 
11th July 2015
 
Joint statement circulated on the occasion of the PROTEST AGAINST BRUTALITY OF STATE FORCES AND TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE OF MANIPUR FROM DEMOGRAPHIC INVASION, organized by the Manipur Students’ Association Delhi, at the University of Delhi, on 11th July 2015.
 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/joint-statement-circulated-on-the-occasion-of-the-protest-against-brutality-of-state-forces-and-to-protect-the-people-of-manipur-from-demographic-invasion/

ILP Totally an adult issue ?

By Rocky Wahengbam “What is ILP?” people ask. Why are youths involved? Do they need to? Are the indigenous people really threatened? Without giving a straight answer ‘Yes’, let us

By Rocky Wahengbam

“What is ILP?” people ask. Why are youths involved? Do they need to? Are the indigenous people really threatened? Without giving a straight answer ‘Yes’, let us first try to understand the issue as a whole. If you’re an outsider and want to travel to Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, you’ll need this Inner Line permit (a type of certificate/paper). Even if you’re an Indian citizen and wish to travel to these places, you’ll need an ILP. This provision was made by Britishers under an Act called as Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act, 1873. An outsider cannot take away any rubber, wax, ivory or other forest product (or any book, diary, manuscript, map, picture, photograph, film, article of religious or scientific interest outside these inner line permit areas). This ILP provision was made to give special protection to the indigenous people of the North-east region. If I give the above definition when someone asks about ILP, it would be just a lame one. The present demand for ILP encompasses much more than the above mentioned definition which derives from the Act imposed by the then British for their business interests. In addition, the MRVTMW Act 2015 passed by Manipur Legislative Assembly in March 2015 which awaits the consent of the State Governor neither serves any purpose in protecting the native population.

The JCILPS set up to demand the implementation of the said permit agreed with the All political parties before its drafting of the said bill on 5 major agendas namely : 1) Issuance of passes/permits to outsiders/migrant workers. 2) Not allow their permanent settlement in Manipur. 3) Marking 1951 as the base year to differentiate migrants from original settlers. 4) Denying land holding rights to outsiders/migrants. 5) Setting up of a full-fledged Labour Commission to regulate entry of inter-state workers and detect illegal migrants/outsiders. But, the MRVTMW Act 2015 didn’t talk about land holding rights and didn’t define indigenous/original inhabitants/ permanent settlers. Hence, it ended up backfiring itself. Any act passed which do not ban the land holding rights of non-indigenous outsiders will remain a joke to the demand committee.

The Manipur Regulation of Visitors, Tenants and Migrant Workers Act, 2015 which experienced a walk-out of the 4 Trinamool Congress Opposition MLAs when it was passed in the Assembly in March 2015 failed to capture the aspiration of the people. The Leader of the House CM Ibobi Okram who moved the motion in a hasty manner by proclaiming to make amendments if needed in future, blatantly shows how a Bill which in its soul passed to protect the Indigenous Inhabitants ends up protecting the Migrant Workers. An Act which was hastily passed without paying heed to the All Parties Resolution by projecting that the Govt. has stopped resorting to the ‘delaying tactics’ ends up being a part of the same old game.

What are the implications of ILP? ILP can be used only for travel and not for permanent residency in the area. Outsiders cannot buy property in the state. Inter-racial marriage (Marriage of Manipuris [Kangleichas] with Non-Manipuris) will become minimal as residences of outsiders are not permitted. There will be less competition among the backward tribes and in-flowing foreigners. Although such provisions though are not valid for Central Govt. employees, security personal, etc.

ILP is applicable only to Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, but it is not applicable to Manipur. So, question: Why doesn’t Manipur fall under ILP system? Because Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh were under the British control till independence. So Britishers implemented ILP permit there, but Manipur was princely states so ILP wasn’t implemented here. Although, Manipur (as a princely state before independence) had created its own system of Permits/ passports but it was abolished in 1951. In 2012, Manipur State Assembly also passed a resolution urging Government of India, to implement the ILP system to Manipur. Moreover, these 3 states with all their original inhabitants belonging to the Scheduled tribe list of the First Schedule enjoy protection under Article 342 of the Indian Constitution. This ST status made them easy in implementing the aforementioned ILP. For Manipur, some sections of population particularly the Meeteis which qualifies the definition of ST (primitive traits, geographical isolation, distinct culture, shy of contact with community at large, economically backward as compare to the mainstream society) under the constitution are still not ST and hence, do not enjoy various other constitutional protections.

Pro ILP arguments for Manipur

After independence, the influx of foreigners/non-locals/outsiders in Manipur has increased exponentially. This has led to increased competition (in jobs, business, elections ) among locals and outsiders. Foreigners started standing for local elections and some of them have also emerged victorious! Local youth has to compete with outsiders for state Government jobs, college admissions. Influx of outsiders, changes the demographic structure of the state, in long term, this could pose a major problem to reservation quota for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.

Culturally, outsiders bring their language and culture. It poses serious threat to Manipuri language, scripts, local dialects and traditional way of life. Drug trafficking cases, incidents of rape and other crimes in the State have become more rampant due to the influx of outsiders into Manipur. Manipur is one of the six high HIV prevalence states in the country. The influx of migrants is worsening this problem. Lands in tribal belts and blocks are being occupied by non-tribals and Bangladeshis, but the government machineries have done nothing to protect these lands from the encroachers, rather give them ration cards to secure the vote bank. Since the NE states are already backward in areas of education, infrastructure, etc such a competition has passed on to the younger generation. The recent violent riots in Assam is an example on how if immigration is unchecked can lead to severe problems. Outsiders are ready to work for lower wages. This makes difficult for the local Manipuris to get any employment.

Why ILP is a Valid Demand?

ILP system is already in place in Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, then why should it not be implemented in Manipur, which is in the same geographical area, facing similar problems for immigration. ILP system doesn’t PROHIBIT outsiders from entering into a state. It merely requires them to get registered so they can be easily identified. Any under-privileged section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part there of having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same. This demand is therefore constitutional and legal.

Regulation of Visitors, Tenants and Migrant Workers Bill-2015

The Bill originally suffered for bringing out without penal clauses violating Article 35 a (ii) of the Indian Constitution. Without penal provisions in the Bill, it was framed like a tiger without fangs or claws. Firstly, the title of the Bill is a disgrace. The title which seeks to protect migrant workers instead of the indigenous people of Manipur just goes over my head. I cannot comprehend why such an Introduction was put forth in the bill to highlight the aims and objectives of the Bill when there is already an Act called State Migrant Workmen Act-1979 to protect Inter-state migrant workers. The introduction which says – A Bill to provide for registration of visitors, tenants and migrant workers for their safety and security and for maintenance of public order in the State of Manipur, is sure to invite a big slap right in the beginning.

Section 14 of the Bill said that the Provisions of this Act shall not apply to the permanent residents of the State of Manipur. The Clause which doesn’t define ‘Permanent Resident’ is a misleading and ambiguous one. It will become extremely difficult to identify all those who came after 18 November 1950 and chuck them off from the electoral list. Lastly, the major contention with the bill is that there is no clause mentioning about the Banning of Land Holding Rights by ‘Outsiders.’

With the Arrival of Indian Railways, Trans-Asian Highway, Major national projects under Act East Policy and Centrally sponsored schemes, ILP is a must- a socio economic political necessity. The aspirations of the people in total can be realized and full protection can be meted out by incorporating the ST demand with the ILP demand. Today, one dies for ILP; many will die for ST status because ILP is never complete without ST status. With the death of a student called Sapam Robinhood, the public out-roar has become more intense and the fear of other states emulating such protests has also increased. Excesses of state actors particularly the State Police have become quite rampant recently. Lessons have not been learnt when one youth was shot death for not stopping his vehicle at the frisking point. In terms of tackling such protests, I envisaged a civil war if some protests same as that of Delhi gang rape happens in Manipur. Their training should incorporate controlling of angry mob instead just teaching them to shoot suspects.

The 5 days house confinement of outsiders by civil organizations will take an ugly turn if this sensitive issue is not handled in time. We cannot say that a bloody clash between the native and the outsiders will never happen. The death of the Youth and his idolization as ‘Yelhoumi Kanbagi Lamjing Meira’( Torch bearer for the protection of Indigenous people) shows where this issue is moving into. His death can be understood in the way the state has failed to understand peace protest and blood shedding is required in each issue. All these involvement of the students will be termed as the increased political consciousness of the youth or youth being used as instruments to receive political ends, I do not wish to comment. But one thing is sure, this issue could have been easily solved if the legislature ponder upon the aspirations of the people and work towards achieving them. The non-existent intervention from the judiciary is also questionable. It’s high time for everyone concerned to pull up their shocks and nip the issue at the bud by understanding the aspiration of the indigenous people before the cry of mothers become our lullaby and the sounds of teargas and mock bombs become the firecrackers of the night. Everybody loves fire crackers but nobody wants them to be a part of everyday life. It will be already late if we sit and wait for the molehill to turn into a mountain.

 

The writer is a Sociology Honours graduate from Hindu College, Delhi University and can be reached at rockywahengbam@gmail.com

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/ilp-totally-an-adult-issue/

Manipur ILPS demand intensified, JCILPS Jiribam branch burns effigies of CM O Ibobi

Exclusive report from Jiribam by Momon Thoudam. Jiribam 10-July-2015: Joint committee on Inner Line Permit System( JCILPS)  Jiribam branch Volunteers of Students’ Wing, JCILPS women organization and civil organizations in the Jiribam

Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam

Manipur ILP Demand – Jiribam: A police personal stands near the protest site

Exclusive report from Jiribam by Momon Thoudam.

Jiribam 10-July-2015: Joint committee on Inner Line Permit System( JCILPS)  Jiribam branch Volunteers of Students’ Wing, JCILPS women organization and civil organizations in the Jiribam sub division responded to the call of JCILPS and intensified their demand to introduce ILPS in Manipur.

Effigies of Manipur Chief Minister, Deputy CM and Education Minister were burnt today at different places in Jiribam. Protesters also burnt effigies in front of the residence of Revenue & Law Minister  and Jiribam MLA Th. Debendra. Normal life has been affected in Jiribam due to the continued agitation.

 

Click on the below photos to view the photo gallery:

Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam: In front of Th. Debendra's residence
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam: In front of Th. Debendra's residence
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam: Effigy of CM O Ibobi
Manipur ILP Demand - Jiribam: Burning Effigies

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/manipur-ilps-demand-intensified-jcilps-jiribam-branch-burns-effigies-of-cm-o-ibobi/

Photos of curfew imposed in Imphal after JCILPS student agitator killed in police action

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/photos-of-curfew-imposed-in-imphal-after-jcilps-student-agitator-killed-in-police-action/

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Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/photos-of-curfew-imposed-in-imphal-after-jcilps-student-agitator-killed-in-police-action/

MSAD PR on JCILPS student protestor killed (Manipuri language)

Office of the Manipur Students’ Association Delhi New Delhi Press release Ref. No.: MSADPR20150708                                                                                    Date: 8/7/2015   Yelhoumee kanbagi khongjangda sarkargi force na hatpada thawaina pontha pikhrba athouba maheiroi Sapam

Office of the Manipur Students’ Association Delhi

New Delhi

Press release

Ref. No.: MSADPR20150708                                                                                    Date: 8/7/2015

 

Yelhoumee kanbagi khongjangda sarkargi force na hatpada thawaina pontha pikhrba athouba maheiroi Sapam Robinhood, apokpa Sapam Romesh amadi apokpi Sapam Babita (Abi) leipham Khurai Lairikyengbam Makha Leikai amadi Ananda Singh Higher Secondary School Chekon da class XI science da tamliba maheiroi asina changsillakliba khongjangda thawaina pontha pikhibada Manipur Studnets’ Association Delhi (MSAD) na thamoi sokna nungaitaba fongdokchari amadi leihouriba eemung manunggi meeoisinggi awabada saruk yajari loinana ngasigi thoudok asida asok-apan nagkhraba maheiroisinggidamaktasu MSAD na nungaitaba fongdokchari.

Matam kuinadagi changsillakliba khongjang asibu namthanabagidamak paliba sarkar asina maheiroisingbu sa-ngada chatthaagadaba lichat chatthaba haibasi khunnai asibu oosittabani. Tunggi yumbirel oirakkadaba maheiroisingna lairik tamgabada thadoktuna leibakki khallaga chatpa rally da police force sijinnaduna khunai asibu muthatlage khanbagi mawongda tourakliba asi taraina louba matam nattre.

Ngasigi sarkar asi yelhoumeegi khandaba makhoigi furitkhaoda changnaba peisa kharagi khanba leibakki khandaba maikei khangdana chelliba turelgi ichelgumbani.

Manipur Legislative Assembly asi peisa khakta khannanaba leibra ntraga leibakki warep loupham natabra? Leibakki oiba wa khannapham natrabadi masi leibagi wahanthok leiribra?

Sarkargi ludraba thouong asi tasengna maheiroi khunnaibu singnabani amadi asigumlaba thoudok asina henna thouna happaga eikhoi punna amatta oibagi liching makhada changsilliba khongjang asina mai paktrifaoba changsinminasi haina MSAD na meeyamda ningsingjari. Loinana hayen tang 9 July 2015 pung 3 p.m. da DU garden, north campus ta makha taba khongjang changsinnabagidamakta public meeting ama koujari.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/msad-pr-on-jcilps-student-protestor-killed-manipuri-language/

CORE PRESS STATEMENT: Extreme abuse of power/failure of Home Department of Manipur to stem disgraceful slide in public affairs

PRESS STATEMENT 8th July 2015 The Centre for Organisation Research and Education expresses utter scorn for the extreme abuse of power and failure of the Home Department of Manipur to

PRESS STATEMENT

8th July 2015

The Centre for Organisation Research and Education expresses utter scorn for the extreme abuse of power and failure of the Home Department of Manipur to stem the disgraceful slide in the public affairs of Manipur. The reported fatal injury suffered by a young boy of 16 years, Sapam Robinhood Singh, S/o Romesh of Keishamthong Thangjam Leirak, presently residing at his mother’s home at Khurai Lairik Yengbam Leikai and studying in class XI (Science) at Ananda Singh Higher Secondary School, Nongmeibung was avoidable and preventable. He was reportedly shot with a tear gas shell on his left check at close range and was rushed to Public Hospital Hatta and was later referred to Raj Medicity, North AOC where he succumbed to the injuries inflicted by the Manipur Police. It has been reported that a large number of students numbering more than forty also sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment at various hospitals around Imphal.

The Manipur Police have been trained in the use of tear gas projectiles and mob control, as stated by official information from the Manipur Police Training College (MPTC) at Pangei. But this report seems to say the very opposite. A peaceful rally is not a mob. Use of fire power by the police is under the domain of the district administration. Who gave the order to fire tear gas projectiles at the students? Excessive and disproportionate use of power is, unfortunately, the character of the Manipur Police.

We condemn the totally unjustified abrupt imposition of indefinite curfew in the Great Imphal area from 3:30 PM of 8th July 2015, seeking excuses in an imagined deterioration of law and order, as a clear demonstration of the total failure of the state administration. Peaceful demonstrations and rallies are the very foundations of the democratic will of the people and the fundamental rights freedom of expression and assembly protected by the Indian Constitution, and not to be confused with deterioration of law and order. It is evident that the government of Manipur is not just anti-people but openly in contempt of the democratic principles of India.

It is paradoxical that the government of India entered into an international human rights treaty on civil and political rights and entered into an obligation to uphold, promote and protect these rights, but it is left to the civil society, children, students and human rights defenders to perform these obligations!

As we grieve with the family of Sapam Robinhood and all the injured young students, we demand an immediate lifting of this draconian curfew imposed in Imphal and the immediate establishment of an independent and fair judicial inquiry into the incident in order to fix responsibility and liability in accordance to the law.

 

[Dr. Laifungbam Debabrata Roy]

President

Elders’ Council

Press release from CORE, Manipur. They can be reached at laifungbam@coremanipur.org

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/core-press-statement-extreme-abuse-of-powerfailure-of-home-department-of-manipur-to-stem-disgraceful-slide-in-public-affairs/

Jiribam affect by JCILPS bandh as well

Jiribam,7 July 2015 : The 19 hour bandh called by the JCILPS jiribam branch, Conglomerate body of student organization, women organization and civil organization with demands to implement the Inner

Jiribam,7 July 2015 : The 19 hour bandh called by the JCILPS jiribam branch, Conglomerate body of student organization, women organization and civil organization with demands to implement the Inner Line Permit System in the State . Normal life was affected in Jiribam by the 19 hours bandh,  All roads leading to Jiribam was closed while schools, offices and business establishments remained closed for the day..

ema market

Ema market Photo credit : Momon Thoudam

highway turning point

Highway turning point .. Photo credit : Momon Thoudam

main market

Main market.. Photo credit : Momon Thoudam

main turning point,baupara

Main turning point,baupara Photo credit : Momon Thoudam

market

Market , Photo credit : Momon Thoudam

kali mandir road

Kali mandir road, Photo credit ; Momon Thoudam

kalinagar

Kalinagar Photo credit: Momon Thoudam

moreh market jiri

Moreh market jiri Photo credit : Momon Thoudam

near police station,babupara

Near police station,babupara Photo credit : Momon Thoudam

railway crossing

Railway crossing Photo credit : Momon Thoudam

sumo counter(jiri to imphal)

Sumo counter(jiri to imphal) Photo credit : Momon Thoudam

zero point(congress building babupara)

Zero point(congress building babupara) Photo credit : Momon Thoudam

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/jiribam-affect-by-jcilps-bandh-as-well/

Rava Presents Ethical Fashion Event 2nd Edition 2015 “Walk Till You Die”

Rava Presents Ethical Fashion Event 2nd Edition 2015 “Walk Till You Die” – Random Pictures by Deepak Shijagurumayum  

Rava Presents Ethical Fashion Event 2nd Edition 2015 “Walk Till You Die” – Random Pictures by Deepak Shijagurumayum

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Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/rava-presents-ethical-fashion-event-2nd-edition-2015-walk-till-you-die/

An Open Letter to AMMIK : Kapilarambam.blogspot

Very respected Apunba Manipur Matam Ishei Kanglup, in the name of holy traditions of the land, I’m sending you my deepest regards. I hope you are doing well and I

Very respected Apunba Manipur Matam Ishei Kanglup, in the name of holy traditions of the land, I’m sending you my deepest regards. I hope you are doing well and I believe I’m not disturbing you in your daily raga recital. The last time I heard about you was when you insisted the government to declare Sana Leibak Manipur as the state anthem just after the demise of the legendary Bachaspatimayum Jayentakumar Sharma who penned the song. Unfortunately the authority is indifferent as always but lesser than that of the people, who are assured that this song would evoke the false pride in you. That’s another story.tapta

You have made a bolder step this time. But why would you act like the army and issue diktats? As far as we know, you are a group of contemporary singers just as your name suggests; and neither would anyone believe you are a fascist organisation. Didn’t you feel getting out of tune when you write out that Tapta cannot sing anymore simply because he is not a member of your organisation? Probably you don’t. That’s why you have not only boycotted him but gone ahead and made your terrifying royal promise of banning the film as well of which he is a playback singer. Perhaps the film, Keishal, under the banner of Plus Media Production, might never see the light of the day. This is considering that you can summon artistes for negotiation in rebel camps or pay the police to do what they do best: threaten the people. However, there are so many things at stake here. Truth be told, your name must remain as it was: like a band of Nazi-inspired musicians but in a non-existential zone or wherever far from a sane society. Today, you might not mind it, you have never. You would not care that you have become the laughing stock in the whole town these days. A real musician would have produced a fine work from such humiliation but we know you are callous. Your fascist ideology—if there is any other such thing beside sheer stupidity behind your organisational workings—is only as good as your crappy tabla-harmonium music. If there is one thing that is so typical in the world of artistes, it is their love for freedom and liberty. But clearly you have become blind and you cannot see beyond your overbearing octave. For that matter, Tapta is more popular than all of you combined, yes, he also performs better than the combination of all your rule-obsessed, cheesy singing mates. Doesn’t this give you some clue why people are calling you all sorts of names because you are blindly trampling on the people’s choice of music and professional affiliation? Tapta is creative, independent and politically engaged—all of which you are not. We can see these issues would be too much because for you, art should be only for art’s sake. You have nothing to do with the diktats from both the state and non-state actors, which have shoved us into a corner of collective listlessness. Of course, nothing can be more important than obtaining a visharad degree from your alma mater located in faraway Agra and Gwalior and others; and yes, flaunting your power in this land of no master.   tapta-ammik

Again, Tapta is more popular than your organisation. This fact might be a source of great disturbance to your inflated ego. Why don’t you go and sing on the radio if it is not the music season in the town? There are lots of issues at hand that the people should care about. For instance, in one eastern corner of the land, in Chadong, hundreds of families have been displaced from their homes. The government’s myopic plan of building a dam has backfired though the authority is nonchalant as ever. The rhythmic patterns of violence and underdevelopment have already imprisoned us in a time warp of nothingness. In this kind of situation, your diktats and boycotts have become an unnecessary pain in the ass.

We are grateful to you for keeping up the Manipuri language. Albeit, everybody knows your disciplined approach to learning and practising music is doing much harm than helping it. Have you watched the film Western Sankirtan? You should ask your big brother, the Film Forum Manipur, if you have not. To explain briefly, the theme of the film is about going back to our roots, but while ignoring or too stupid to know that Sankirtan can never be a marker of our identity. It is no less different from your borrowed ragas and khayaals. And oh, your mates are tired of your adopted microtones and semitones: now they are aping the shittiest music from all over the world. I presume you like Ranbir Thouna. I like him too but I cannot tell how AR Rahman sounds so much like him. I’m kidding, I don’t like him but the mention about AR Rahman is true. (Footnote: Last year, the Forum banned six actors for not taking part in an Inner Line Permit protest. So apparently, the authoritarian madness run in the blood!)

In the last few days, metal-inspired Eastern Dark has also come out with their stories of intimidation. Incidentally like Tapta, this band is known for its socially relevant music just in case you had missed it in your self-righteous ride to conquer the music world in the stupidest ways. Pop stars from the olden days including Sanaton and Naba Volcano were the closest you can get but they are gone a long time ago.  eastern-dark

If copycats, alien music styles and unquestioning loyalty are the foundation of your world, you might as well boycott yourself and excuse us for some time. We know what our choice of music is and you cannot dictate what it should be. Please admit you are a fascist organisation and you are all powerful. We might be able to boost your ego and help do away with your talentless struggle, or, probably show you how it takes fans and supporters—and not primitive aggression and high-handedness —to raise an art form.

Finally, you are only strong as a group and, for your kind consideration, there is an adage: those people who cannot work outside a group or on their own, they are a nobody when they are alone. For all the talents you don’t have, it seems you are making up with your illegal dictatorial rules. Please do go to Agra and improve your skills. You might become a better singer some day. Who knows?!

Yours sincerely,
An anonymous music listener
Date: 3 July 2015
Place: Laphumakhong near Moreh

PS: Do send postcards from Agra. Don’t show off that your leader is an old-timer in the field. The general is just a piece of rotten ass with all the annoying, talent less foot soldiers.

Source : kapilarambam.blogspot

http://kapilarambam.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/an-open-letter-to-ammik.html

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/an-open-letter-to-ammik-kapilarambam-blogspot/

Special Category Status For Manipur

  By : C. Doungel The placement of Manipur among comparatively developed states by a committee appointed by the then Union finance Minister in 2013 has very much upset and

 

Manipur

Manipur

By : C. Doungel

The placement of Manipur among comparatively developed states by a committee appointed by the then Union finance Minister in 2013 has very much upset and disappointed the intelligentia of the state. There is apprehension that this will deprive the state from entitlement of 90% grant of plan fund enjoyed by backward states belonging to the special category. Accordingly, some persons had pleaded not to remove Manipur from the Special State Category with the 14th Finance Commission when they last visited Manipur. The pattern of fund devolution had since changed considerably with the award of 14th Finance Commission which has reinforced the apprehensions. The final picture will emerge with finalization of exercises initiated by NITI AYOG at the instance of Prime Minister. We do not know what are the exact parameters adopted by the committee in determining the same placement of state as developed. Nevertheless, by taking a long shot, we may assume that the committee must have drawn conclusion based on the impressive reports submitted by the State Government. They must have also relied on favourable statistics churned out by Government.

Let us now discuss some valid reasons for continuance of Manipur in the special category. Topographically Manipur is a land-locked hill state situated at the very tailend of the country. The Imphal valley is situated about 3000 feet above the sea level and for all purposes, Manipur should be considered a hill state. This does not however necessarily make it a tribal state. Being a princely state, no worthwhile development took place except the Old Secretariat, residence of the Political Agent (now used as Raj Bhavan) and the DCs residence {now used as Chief Ministers residence). They were constructed as symbol of the British Raj than anything else.

Amongst others, some of them for example, may be as follows : Water Supply, the number of villages / towns covered under this would be very high. Rural electrification coverage must be almost cent per cent. Construction of roads in terms of kilometers would not only be impressive but connectivity of villages would be excellent on paper atleast. Areas brought under irrigation including double cropping would be impressive. Control of Jhum and resettlement of jhumias and areas brought under plantation would be very high. Distribution of rice, kerosene and sugar under public distribution system would rate as excellent. Report about welfare schemes like mid-day meal and functioning of Anganwadi Centres would make very good impression. So also, reports about providing housing schemes under Tribal Development, Minority Schemes and Indira Awaj Yojna would also make impressive reading. Even in matters of law and order, killings and booking of criminals would show great progress according to statistics provided, though there is actually no improvement in law and order. Little did they realize that these can boomerang. Drawing some comparision with similarly placed states like Meghalaya, it inherited Shillong which was the erstwhile capital of undivided Assam having good road connection from Gauhati Railhead situated at a distance of 120 kms. Manipur`s disadvantages are manifold. It suffered badly from the ravages of 2nd World War. In fact most of the fiercest battle between the Allied Army and Japan/INA armies were fought in Manipur. It has now come to light that the battles around Maibam Lokpa Ching was the fiercest battle in the South-East Asian Front fought between a regiment of British army who were strongly dug in and another regiment of Japanese army. The causalities were one of the highest. Fierce battle were also fought at Bishnupur, Kanglatongbi, Kangpokpi and Jessami. Jessami was one place where the newly raised 1st Assam Regiment was deployed to stop Japanese advance to Kohima. The names of Jem. Thanghem Kuki decorated with Military cross and Jem. Satkhosei Kuki (Jangi nam) were some of the heroes known to us. Capt. M.K. P.B. Singh was one of the first officers to have built up the regiment. For estraordinary bravery, subedar, Nar Bahadur Thapa was awarded Victoria Cross for having faught very gallantly in the battle of Bishnupur. Imphal as also other places like Churachanpdur, Kanglatongbi and Kangpokpi were heavily bombarded. I recall that as a boy of six years in 1946, we used to swim in ponds created by bomb craters at Kangpokpi Mission Compound. The intensity of fighting in Manipur and Naga Hills necessitated construction of Air fields at Kakching and Koirengei.

The Dimapur – Manipur cart road was converted as motorable in early forties mainly for use of British army for transportation of supplies and equipment of war. The biggest disadvantage of Manipur however is the acute transport bottle-neck. Of the 236 km. long road from the railhead of Dimapur more than 100 kms. pass through the State of Nagaland which is equally disturbed and also at times hostile. Besides, the road is narrow and sharply winding at many points that transportation of heavy and bulky or long material are difficult. Passing through young mountains, landslide and sinking places are many. Added to this is the misery of blockades. Improvement of the so called alternate road through Jiribam and Tamenglong district is progressing at snail speed. If there is trouble in Bihar, Bengal, Assam or Nagaland, we suffer most. Cost of transportation perhaps is the highest for Manipur. Not much worthwhile infrastructure had been built since independence except construction of symbolic buildings like Assembly, High Court, New Secretariat which had benefited outside firms and the Ministers/beauraucrate who got their cuts. The poor people have not benefited out of these. Further, whatever little infrastructure of road, bridges etc. were built have either deteriorated and broken down.

There is hardly any scope for big industries and the main scope of self-employment is by accelerating economic activities through trade and commerce. The look east policy now, act east, is not yet able to make much impact. If power supply improves, small industries for making electrical goods like stabilizers, making steel almirahs, grills for windows, electric switches and plastic goods etc. can be established as people from Manipur have natural flair and skill. Construction of Tipaimukh Hydro Power Project which will make us power sufficient is stalled for reasons other than economic by psuedo experts spreading alarmist disinformation about it. Such negative attitudes are also stalling construction of other hydro power projects and taking up oil drilling and mining activities. Revival of traditional industries like handloom, weaving, furniture making (wooden, cane and bamboo) and pottery etc. could also go hand in hand.

Most convincing argument would however be to make use of the contentious merger agreements where there are stipulations that Manipur will be given special consideration in matters of development and job opportunities. I think we should profitably use this to convince the Government of India. For, the circumstances and backdrop under which small states in the North East or elsewhere were crated are indeed unique. Historical, political and ethnic reasons are the prime considerations leading to creation of these states. Treating them at par with advanced and viable states would not only be unfair but will also amount to penalizing them which will only put back the clock. The whole approach based on overestimated and false assumptions will rather jeopardise the whole gamut of developmental activities. It is, therefore, necessary to correct the aberrations and restore status quo ante so that a pragmatic approach is possible and the future of small states are safe.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/special-category-status-for-manipur/

Chadong villagers left in a lurch as government maintains silence

  By Grace Jajo IMPHAL, June 25: The issue of Mapithel dam affected population remains unattended from the State government`s side even as Chadong villagers witness submergence of their village

The bridge connecting Chadong village to other villages lay submerged in water.

The bridge connecting Chadong village to other villages lay submerged in water.
Photo: IFP

 

By Grace Jajo

IMPHAL, June 25: The issue of Mapithel dam affected population remains unattended from the State government`s side even as Chadong villagers witness submergence of their village along with all its priceless identities and history.

Such involuntary displacement of indigenous people from their habitat amounts to various aspect of rights violation by the State going by the UN statutes.

For almost three weeks, the rising water level has cut off all routes connecting Chadong Village with the outside world as the bridge connecting the village with other villages remain submerged in water.

The government`s developmental design has created another island in the State by submerging the erstwhile fertile plains of village of Chadong.

`This year our farm land was submerged with the onset of monsoon and we have been trying to survive from our homestead products. And we await our dire future lamented a widow from the village.

A single boat handled by two amateur oarsmen help the villagers cross the flooded water, the villagers said.

`If there is a case of child delivery, sick people or emergency cases, we are in a dire situation,` one of them said.

On the other hand, hordes of people irrespective of age and sex from the other side of the river flood the river bank trying to find some amusement.

`It is unfortunate that the insensitive picnickers are enjoying our misery,` said an elderly villager.

He also told this reporter that the elders in the village are helplessly watching the increasing water level. `Some of them would cry while some compose wailing folk songs in despair` he said.

The Mapithel Dam Project was halted by the National Green Tribunal as it did not have the necessary forest clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF).

In 2010 the first stage project clearance was granted by MoEF later the second stage clearance was obtained unfairly, alleged a member of the Mapithel Dam Affected Village Organisation(MDAVO). MDAVO has appealed against the clearance to the National Green Tribunal.

A case is also pending with the Manipur High Court.

Another member of the organisation added, the project is a clear violation of indigenous communities` rights over our ancestral land and forest.

It is a classical case where the woes of the affected people are completely ignored by the State, imposing its policy by hoodwinking some people with compensation and militarizing the area to continue with its `anti-people` project, he alleged.

The State government has also insisted on this compensation as inclusive rehabilitation without settling the rights of the affected people. Now our farms are submerged and soon our habitation and our church will also go underwater, he said.

He continued that this was after aborting the Expert Review Committee which was meant to develop a State Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy for development induced displacement of indigenous people.

About I57 households who refused the compensation and demanded the State to legally process through the Expert Review Committee stayed back in their village despite the State employing even men in uniform, he said.

The security personnel stationed near the school scared the children and there was no academic session in the village school this year. Yet the teachers posted in this school continue to draw their salary, said one of the parents.

Another woman who was selling her products on the bank of the flooded water said, it has been more than a month since the water submerged our connectivity. Each day and each night we anticipate our fate with fear yet the government seems to be least bothered. Nobody had come to check on our welfare, the concern Minister, MLA and administrators are all keeping silent. We are shocked at their attitude, she said.

Another young teacher from Ramrei Ato adds, the government told us that the river will be blocked to use the water for downstream irrigation and for generating hydel power but neither have they initiated the irrigation process nor the machinery setup for the same.

It is a forceful displacement. Even the new settlement site that the government proposed has not progress beyond initial ground leveling, said a student activist from the village.

He said we cannot shift there yet nor build temporary shelters since even the basic facilities like water and electricity are missing.

The dam water has been blocked since January 15 changing the whole physical façade of the downstream areas too.

The Mapithel Dam Project was approved by the Planning Commission in 1980 and construction had started since 1989 through the State IFCD department without obtaining the required clearance and without adhering to required procedures.

The Dam will submerge 1,215 hectares of land which includes 595 hectares under forest cover. According to the CAG report, the project has annual irrigation potential of 33,400 ha, with a cultivable command area of 21,862 ha. It will increase drinking water supply to Imphal city and surrounding areas by 45.46 million litres a day and generate 7.5 MW hydel power for rural electrification, according to the CAG report of 2003-04.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/06/chadong-villagers-left-in-a-lurch-as-government-maintains-silence/

STDCM stages sit in, submits memorandum to CM on inclusion of Meiteis in ST list

IMPHAL, June 25: The Schedule Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur today staged a sit in protest at Keishampat Community Hall on its demand for inclusion of the Meiteis in the

STDCM protestors sitting along the Nityaipat Chuthek roadside after their rally was broken midway by the police.

STDCM protestors sitting along the Nityaipat Chuthek roadside after their rally was broken midway by the police.

IMPHAL, June 25: The Schedule Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur today staged a sit in protest at Keishampat Community Hall on its demand for inclusion of the Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribes list of India.

The committee also submitted a memorandum to the State Chief Minister later in the afternoon.

The protestors commenced their demonstration since early morning.

They left the demonstration site at around 2 pm and went to submit the memorandum to the Chief Minister at his bungalow.

According to the committee, it wants to bring about a cohesive and harmonious society in Manipur based on ethnic social equality.

The memorandum stated that the inclusion of the Meiteis in the ST list would safeguard the ethnic identity of the Meiteis as an indigenous people of Manipur and prevent their extinction as well as becoming a minority in Manipur.

This will also help the constitutional social division of the indigenous people of the State as tribal hills and the non-tribals of plains, it continued.

The memorandum sought constitutional safeguard to the valley districts of Manipur as Scheducled Area under the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution as in the hill districts of the State and to create a composite tribal State of Manipur with equal respect for all indigenous communities.

The demonstrators while marching towards the Chief Minister`™s bungalow held placards reading `Remove the divide and rule policy amongst the indigenous people of Manipur`™, `Save Yelhoumee`™, `Safeguard to valley area of Manipur as schedule area as that of the Hill area`™.

A strong police team however, stopped them at Nityaipat Chuthek. Only four representatives were allowed to proceed further and submit their memorandum to the Chief Minister.

The four who went to submit the memorandum included committee president Dr Y Mohendra Singh, general secretary retd. Lt Col L Lokendro Singh, L Angousana Sharma and K Thaebema.

One of the agitators left also said that the four would ask the State government to pass a resolution during the upcoming session of the State Assembly and recommend to the Centre to include Meetei/ Meitei in the ST list of India.

Any failure on the part of the government to meet the demands would result in stronger forms of agitation from the committee, he said.

Further according to the agitators, the committee has already submitted a memorandum on their demand on December 18, 2012 and another memorandum with the same demand to the then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh on July 10, 2013.

However, no steps were taken by the State government even though the then PM in response to the memorandum had asked the State government to furnish specific recommendation along with latest socio-economic survey from reputed organisation, the agitators said.

The State government has failed to provide a reply to the earlier memorandum even though it has been more than two years since it was submitted, they lamented.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/06/stdcm-stages-sit-in-submits-memorandum-to-cm-on-inclusion-of-meiteis-in-st-list/

Information for B.Tech and B.Arch 2015 admission at NIT,Manipur

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MANIPUR Langol, Imphal West, Manipur, 795004 B.Tech/B.Arch Programme 2015 Admission for B.Tech and B.Arch courses in all IITS, ISM, NITs and other -GFTIs for Academic Year

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MANIPUR

Langol, Imphal West, Manipur, 795004

B.Tech/B.Arch Programme 2015

Admission for B.Tech and B.Arch courses in all IITS, ISM, NITs and other -GFTIs for Academic Year 2015-16 will be held through Joint Seat Allocation Authority 2015 (JOSAA-2015). A HELP CENTRE and RESOURCE CENTRE for the admission purpose is open at NIT Manipur, Langol Lamphel and Candidates are hereby advised to visit on the following dates.

  1. Registration and subject choice filling: 25th– 29th July (including Sunday).
  2. 1st Round admission: 01st July 2015
  3. For more details, please visit the institute website nitmanipur.ac.in.

Further, for any queries candidates may also contact the undersigned through mobile (9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m.).

Sd/
Dr. P. Albino Kumar
csab@nitmanipur.ac.in
Mobile: 7085382957
Coordinator, B. Tech Admission

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/06/information-for-b-tech-and-b-arch-2015-admission-at-nitmanipur/

ON THE QUESTION OF THE ALIENATION OF THE NORTH EAST AND THE PROBLEMS

Interview by Bhoopesh, Associate Editor, the Tehelka Weekly, New Delhi. Respondent: Dr. Malem Ningthouja, the Campaign for Peace & Democracy (Manipur). 10th June 2015 1 After more than 60 years,

Interview by Bhoopesh, Associate Editor, the Tehelka Weekly, New Delhi.

Respondent: Dr. Malem Ningthouja, the Campaign for Peace & Democracy (Manipur).

10th June 2015

1 After more than 60 years, there seems to be a feeling of alienation for the North East? What do you think the reason for this? How the Indian mainland’s attitude has contributed to this?

 (a) Experts say that the Indian neo-liberal political economy system functions through perpetuation of caste, tribe, communal and racial differences, consciousness and corresponding sectarian assertions at various levels. In this scenario, certain sections of the ‘mongoloids’ in the Northeast, for various historical reasons, identified themselves with differently imagined ‘nations’. They perceive that their respective ‘nation’ have been racially discriminated, subjugated and oppressed by the Indians whom they depicted as a homogenous entity and identified with a different nation. Many ‘mainland’ Indians too perceive and treated the ‘Northeast’ with racial otherness and doubt the latter’s loyalty to India. But the so called ‘mainland’ is a metaphor; it is not a homogenous ‘nation’ freed from sets of complexities, constraints, rebellions and unrests within itself. Therefore, the alienation of the Northeast vis-à-vis India, if there is, is a reflection of the structural constraints of the Indian political economy.

2 Now different groups have come together under the umbrella of united liberation front of western south East Asia. How far do you think this association be able to represent the different social sections of the society of the North Eastern region? Will this sign a new phase in the insurgency?

(a) Recently, a common platform called the United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW) was formed by some rebel parties in the Indo-Myanmar border regions. I don’t know exactly the terms and conditions agreed upon among the member organisations. To me, it seems to be a mere casual defensive tactics vis-à-vis counter-rebellion and for propaganda purpose. On the one hand, I am not sure, if the parties have any common revolutionary perception and strategy. Over the decades we have seen sporadic protracted armed guerrilla assaults in different times in spaces. But I have not seen, other than sectarian and mutually exclusive patriotic campaigns, any effective revolutionary programme across communities. There is comparative absence of consistent and collective mass democratic movement for a revolutionary change. On the other hand, I believe, the societies or communities or nations that these parties claimed to represent, in the ground reality are perplexed with political confusions, mistrust, complexities, and exclusive assertions. When the peoples are not being organised on common revolutionary goal; I am not sure how effective the UNLFW will be in either striking defeats to the Indian army or overthrowing their ‘enemy’ regimes. I am equally uncertain about how long the mechanically anchored tactical collusion will last.

(b) The past substantiates my doubt. What had happened to the tactical alliances that were formed from time to time: (i) the Revolutionary Joint Committee (1990) formed by the Revolutionary People’s Front, the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak and the Kangleipak Communist Party; (ii) the Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front (1991) formed by the United National Liberation Front, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) and the United Liberation Front of Assam; (iii) the United Liberation Front of Seven Sisters (1993) and the Self-Defence United Front of South-East Himalayan Region (1994) formed under the leadership of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (IM); the Manipur People’s Liberation Front (1999) formed by the United National Liberation Front, the Peoples’ Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak and the Revolutionary People’s Front; (iv) the Joint Coordination Committee (2009) of the United National Liberation Front and the Kanglei Yaol Kanna Lup; (v) the Coordination Committee (2011) formed by the Kangleipak Communist Party, the Kanglei Yaol Kanna Lup, the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Progressive), the Revolutionary People’s Front, the United National Liberation Front, and the United People’s Party of Kangleipak. Why were they formed, what they did and how they ended?

3 The Indian state seems to have viewed problem of North Eastern people as a law and order problem? Do you think the negotiations that the government had with different groups can be started again? And how the laws like AFSPA has contributed to the worsening of the situation?

(a) Various problems exist in the Northeast. Among these, the government views the armed rebellion and democratic assertions against the ongoing neo liberal ‘projects’ by the affected peoples as law and order problems. Arbitrarily superimposed projects are being protected by military and paramilitary forces. Democratic protests are being ruthlessly suppressed by the police. In the past, even the demand for Manipur Statehood within the constitutional framework was viewed as law and order problem. Anything that is deemed obstruction to the immediate interest of the rulers is termed a threat to the nation and law and order problem.

(b) For some years the Government have been successful in entering into peace negotiation with some rebel groups in the Northeast – separate ceasefire agreement, memorandum of understanding and suspension of operation have been signed with different rebel groups. This has reduced armed conflict and casualty amongst them. I want to term it tactical peace. However, I am not sure, if the tactical peace have reduced the structural constraints of the political economy, which is largely responsible for various forms of grievances and unrests. On the contrary the tactical peace have not reduced the onus of subjection and terror on the people. My point is, I am more concern about the peace, security and development of the people. If the tactical peace do not address the legitimate issues of the people, I don’t care at all about either extension or abrogation of the tactical peace.

(c) AFSPA, created State terror and supress many in the name of counter rebellion. The blame of State terror is on the Indian army or any forces for violation of human rights with impunity under the provisions of AFSPA. However, AFSPA is an effective political instrument of killing and torture to supress in order to ensure that there is no resistance against the constraints created by the system. AFSPA is a mere legal surrogate to fulfil the objectives of rule of law, which is founded on the basis of the ideological framework of certain relation of production. The ‘rule of law’ has been comparatively fulfilled by AFSPA, but there continues the constraints of the political economy. AFSPA deals with syndrome and became a syndrome of the system; but it is not an appropriate means to root out the material foundation of unrests and armed rebellions. My understanding is that if the Indian nation exists at all, AFPSA is a threat to the peoples that constitute the ‘nation’. In that sense AFSPA is anti-national. Relatively, those who intentionally hold on AFSPA are anti-nationals. Those who blindly hold on AFSPA are misguided peoples. The fight against AFSPA, therefore, in reality, is a fight against the anti-nationals who use legal camouflages and propaganda tools to cover up the crimes they committed in the name of ‘national security.’

4 What do you think should be the democratic way to solve the problems of the North Eastern people?

(a) The big stakeholders of the neo-liberal regimes have exposed India to the global finance capital. They are reluctant to make India stand by its own economic feet in the global economic order. They discourage ‘national’ industrialisation as this will take time, require lots of efforts and could be at the cost of their quick profit. When India is on sale by a few powerful, leading to the inequality and underdevelopment of the productive forces; the question is – are the rulers really concern about the development, equality and welfare of the peoples ruled by them? Aren’t they using communal and divisive tactics to divert the attention of the people, so that they retain control over the politics and economy? In this scenario, if there is a democratic model that can solve the problems faced by the peasants, workers and minorities in North India; I think, that same model can be effectively applied in the Northeast as well. When the problems of those who are ‘loyal’ to India have not been democratically addressed, how will the problems of the ‘disloyal’ will be democratically addressed? The rulers know the problems and the democratic solutions as well. The problem is: they are in power, they enjoy it and they know how to govern undemocratically in the existing manner. Are they ready for a democratic solution? When democratic voices are ruthlessly suppressed the desperate sections will automatically look for other modes of rebellion. This is what is exactly happening in India. My puzzle is whether there will be a magical divine intervention, to change the mind-set of the rulers, so that they voluntarily uphold a democratic solution or should they be forced upon to do it. History will tell.

The sender can be reached at malemningthouja@yahoo.com

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/06/on-the-question-of-the-alienation-of-the-northe-east-and-the-problems/

How To Create Enemies And Alienate People

Recent attacks by armed rebels put the spotlight yet again on the Indian State’s failure to engage the people of the Northeast in an inclusive way, writes NK Bhoopesh, Tehelka

Recent attacks by armed rebels put the spotlight yet again on the Indian State’s failure to engage the people of the Northeast in an inclusive way, writes NK Bhoopesh, Tehelka

War crimes: The Indian Army has allegedly deployed rape as a counterinsurgency tool in the Northeast

War crimes: The Indian Army has allegedly deployed rape as a counterinsurgency tool in the Northeast

Connected to the rest of India by a narrow 22-km strip of land aptly called ‘chicken’s neck’ (also known as the Siliguri Corridor), the Northeast has long had a precarious connect with the collective consciousness of the mainland. To the average man on the street in New Delhi, for instance, the region is first and foremost an “integral part of India” — the phrase he hears repeated ad nauseam every time a major militant attack on the security forces or a massive protest against army atrocities hits the national headlines. He believes in it despite the numerous instances of racist attacks on migrants from the Northeastern states in several parts of the country, including the national capital. This paradox throws light on the unfinished of integrating the people of the Northeast into the idea of India over the decades and through umpteen policy flip-flops between “win hearts and minds” and “hit them hard where it hurts”. And it was brought back spectacularly — and brutally — into the public imagination by the 4 June ambush on an army convoy by a band of insurgents in Manipur’s Chandel district bordering Myanmar. Eighteen personnel of the 6 Dogra Regiment were killed in the attack.

This remoteness of the Northeast from the national consciousness, however, is not in sync with the way the New Delhi establishment views its strategic and economic importance. The “seven sisters”, a popular epithet for the states comprising the Northeast, is seen as a bridge between South and Southeast Asia, and therefore, quite significant for India’s Look East policy. Interestingly, this policy has been the central motif of the country’s diplomatic and trade relations with Southeast Asian countries since 1991 when the then Congress regime at the Centre announced pathbreaking economic measures that set the course for what came to be known as “liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation”.

As a foreign policy initiative, the Look East policy was a success thanks to the economic resilience the Southeast Asian economies exhibited during the financial crisis in the first decade of the 21st century. Trade with these countries has touched $70 billion and is expected to cross $100 billion by the end of this year. But the robust trade stats have not translated into economic development for the Northeast as the bulk of the transactions were routed through the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. Little effort has been made to remove the bottlenecks in the way of trade-based connectivity between the region and the Southeast Asian countries.

So, have the governments at the Centre since then been pursuing the Look East policy without giving sufficient thought to the geographical region that could have been key to its success and, in turn, benefitted from it? For had it been otherwise, the root causes of the alienation of diverse ethnic groups in the Northeast from the people of the rest of India would have been addressed, bringing the curtains down on the insurgency that has plagued the region since it was declared a part of independent India in 1947. The recent resurrection of insurgent groups brings into sharp focus this persistent blind spot in New Delhi’s Northeast policy. In April, the Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-K) walked out of a 14-year ceasefire with the Indian government and launched a series of attacks on the security forces culminating in the 4 July ambush. The attack triggered calls for vengeance from the establishment leading to the cross-border army raid in Myanmar that reportedly ended with what sections of the media and human rights activists have called a “massacre” of the militants allegedly involved in the ambush. Reportedly, not a single shot was fired at the armed personnel who carried out the raid inside the neighbouring country.

Re-emergence and Regrouping

The Chandel ambush has an interesting backdrop: the coming together of an array of insurgent groups in the Northeast on a common platform, which has been christened the United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFWSEA). The platform was floated reportedly after four years of consultations that started in 2011 and comprises four insurgent groups — the NSCN-K, the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) (– I), the Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLP) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) (NDFB-S). Twelve groups had participated in the initial discussions, but most of them pulled out later citing one or the other reason.

Formed on 17 April, the UNLFWSEA is headed by NSCN-K chief SS Khaplang and-I chief is said to have played a key role in the process of its formation. A press statement released soon after stated that the platform would lead a “united struggle” for the “liberation of the ancestral homes”. A few days later, the Manipur-based groups declared the formation of a separate platform called CorCom (Coordination Committee).

Namrata Goswami, research fellow at the New Delhi-based Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis, tells TEHELKA that these moves by the Northeastern rebel groups would significantly impact the course of the insurgency. The common platforms would help groups that represent diverse ethnic groups and do not necessarily agree on all their aims and methods to share intelligence and plan joint operations against the security forces stationed in the Northeast. “This will help them to extend their footprint beyond their current areas of influence,” she says.

This, however, is not the first time that various insurgent groups have come together. Way back in 1986, the , the Manipur-based United National Liberation Front (UNLF, whose armed wing is called the Manipur People’s Army) and the NSCN tried to forge a common platform but the efforts fizzled out soon. Again, in 1990, the Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF, the political wing of the People’s Liberation Army) and the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), two other insurgent groups based in Manipur, formed a joint committee. A year later, the UNLF and the NSCN-K (which split from the NSCN in 1988) joined hands to form the Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front.

The next attempt to bring all the insurgent groups under one umbrella was made in 1994 with the floating of the Self-Defence United Front of South East Himalayan Region. Then, in 2011, the Manipur-based KCP, RPF, Kanglei Yaol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) formed a coordination committee.

With the insurgent groups joining hands against the Indian State, can it be said that they have buried the differences over ideology, politics and tactics that had so far been preventing them from putting up a united front? Maleem Ningthouja, who heads the Campaign for Peace and Democracy in Manipur, does not think so. “This is just a defensive move in the face of intense repression by the State forces and meant to serve the purpose of propaganda,” he says. “The protracted guerrilla campaign has been sectarian so far. Since each group has a different idea of the ‘nation’ they are fighting for and its boundaries, there is little scope for a radical programme cutting across ethnic groups that would appeal to people across the Northeast.”

Guwahati-based journalist Rajeev Bhattacharyya, who authored Rendezvous with Rebels: Journey to Meet India’s Most Wanted Men, writes in a recent article that the UNLFWSEA’s formation might grow into a cause of serious concern for India and “a safe sanctuary in Myanmar for [the rebel] outfits means that the government’s efforts to put an end to the separatist campaign may not bear results immediately”.

Another twist to the regrouping tale is the suspected role of China that the Indian intelligence agencies have drawn attention to. Media reports have quoted intelligence officials saying that the NSCN-K walked out of the ceasefire at China’s behest. “China has strong connections with the Myanmar-based outfits and clandestinely supports them despite knowing that they trade in illegal weapons and contraband drugs,” says Namrata.

Protracted campaign for self-determination

The insurgency in the Northeast has been raging since the early years after independence and has so far defied both a political and a military solution. The accession of a vast array of diverse tribal communities into the Indian nation-state bred intense discontent that New Delhi is yet to come to terms with. The Naga National Council formed in 1946 was the first group that started a “war of independence” from “Indian subjugation”. Over the years, the insurgent groups have proliferated in the Northeast partly because it is ethnically, linguistically and culturally quite distinct from the rest of the India and appears to be connected better with Southeast Asia than the Indian mainland. Mass protests and armed campaigns against the security forces have led to a heavy-handed military response from the State, which has fuelled further discontent in a vicious cycle.

The division of the Northeast into various states without looking into the cultural and ethnic diversities of areas exacerbated the “cultural alienation”, many insurgent groups have alleged. Many experts on the Northeast have also pointed out that since the British colonial rulers administered the region in a decentralised manner, the people knew no central administration before they were brought under the Indian federal structure. The locals, therefore, did not take kindly to the alleged homogenising approach of the Centre, which alienated them from the Indian State and led to the emergence of numerous insurgent groups.

Insurgency reared its head in Manipur with the formation of the UNLF in 1964, followed by the RPF, KYKL and PREPAK. In neighbouring Assam, the insurgency started as “resistance” against “Indian colonisation” with the formation of in 1979 and several other ethnicity-based organisations in the later years. There are more than 50 rebel groups in the Northeast according to some estimates. While some groups demand complete secession from India, others fight for redrawing of the state boundaries in the region on the basis of ethnicity. The assertion of identity involves staking claim on land not just under different states but even in a foreign country. The Naga insurgents, for instance, are fighting for a separate homeland comprising areas inhabited by them in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh as well as Myanmar. This has created a complex tangle in which rebel groups are often found fighting each other rather than the Indian State with greater zeal.

Indeed, land and demographics are central to the ongoing conflict in the Northeast. Indigenous people consider immigration from rest of the country to their homeland as a threat as they fear being turned into a minority in their own homeland. This has often pitted them against poor migrants from mainland India (or Bangladesh , in the case of Assam) who are seen as “outsiders”. For instance, immigration from Bengal and other parts of the country into Tripura during and after Partition is seen to have altered the demography of the state in the 1960s, making the Bengalis a powerful majority. The widespread scare among the indigenous population that other parts of the Northeast will also go the Tripura way contributed to the formation of identity-based insurgent groups.

A Security Fix for a Political Problem

Largely ignoring the root causes underlying the insurgency, the Indian government has viewed it almost exclusively from the security angle and tried to deal with it through military means by relying on the army. As the armed forces are trained to fight wars and not operate under a civilian administration, their deployment in the conflict zones has required the suspension of the civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution by declaring the region as a “disturbed area” and imposing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act ().

The Act, as the name suggests, gives the army extraordinary powers in dealing with the insurgents and their mass base, which translates into impunity for any action carried out in the line of duty even if it violates the “ordinary” law of the land: “Any commissioned officer, warrant officer, non-commissioned officer or any other person of equivalent rank in the armed forces may, in a disturbed area, (a) if he is of opinion that it is necessary to do so for the maintenance of public order, after giving such due warning as he may consider necessary, fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death, against any person who is acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area prohibiting the assembly of five or more persons or the carrying of weapons or of things capable of being used as weapons or of fire-arms, ammunition or explosive substances; (b) if he is of opinion that it is necessary to do so, destroy any arms dump, prepared or fortified position or shelter from which armed attacks are made or are likely to be made or are attempted to be made or any structure used as a training camp for armed volunteers or utilised as a hideout by armed gangs or absconders wanted for any offence; and (c) arrest without warrant any person who has committed a cognisable offence or against whom a reasonable suspicion exists that he has committed or is about to commit a cognisable offence and may use such force as may be necessary to effect the arrest.”

Introduced in 1954 as a short-term measure to counter the Naga insurgency, was later extended to the rest of the Northeast. “ is an effective political tool that enables the armed forces to torture and kill people with impunity,” says Maleem. “The State has given the army these special powers in order to put an end to the resistance by the people by extreme force and allows no space for addressing the real causes behind the unrest.”

Maleem goes on to denounce as an “anti-national” Act for “it threatens the safety and security of the people who constitute the nation”. “The struggle against , therefore, is a fight against anti-national elements who commit heinous crimes under its garb by citing ‘national security’,” he says.

Many human rights organisations echo Maleem’s sentiment and have identified as one of the main reasons for the continued alienation of the people in the region. “The Act violates provisions of international human rights law, including the right to life, the right to be protected from arbitrary arrest and detention, and the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. It also denies the victims of the abuses the right to a remedy,” notes a 2008 Human Rights Watch report titled Getting Away with Murder: 50 Years of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

While the government has rigorously pursued the military option, sporadic efforts to bring the insurgents to the table for negotiations have not seen much success. There have been exceptions, though, with several groups agreeing to occasional ceasefires and some even giving up the demand for secession and joining mainstream politics (e.g., the Mizo National Front, which fought the Indian State for two decades since 1966 and eventually signed the Mizo Accord in 1986, contested elections and formed the state government).

Though some Naga groups, for instance, have given up on sovereignty, their demand to integrate all the Naga-inhabited lands cutting across states has further complicated the possibility of a solution that would satisfy the other ethnic groups too. Pradip Phanjoubam, editor of Imphal Free Press, tells TEHELKA that redrawing the state boundaries along ethnic lines could create more problems than it would solve given the sheer complexity of the geographical distribution of various ethnicities.

No wonder Prime Minister ’s recently announced promise to find a political solution to the Naga issue was taken with a pinch of salt by various political parties in Manipur. Reacting to Modi’s statement, Manipur People’s Party leader N Sovakiran asked the state government to ensure that any peace deal with the Naga insurgents should not be at the cost of Manipur’s territorial integrity.

Mainland Prejudice

The racial distance between mainland India and the Northeast has a long history going back to ancient times as the indigenous people of the region could not be sorted within the Aryan-Dravidian binary that is often used to explain the diversity within the mainland. Geography adds to the alienating mix with the region forming part of a block that is more closely integrated with Myanmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh than with the rest of India.

The killing of 20-year-old Nido Taniam two years ago in New Delhi in a racist attack brought to the fore the prejudice that much of mainland India harbours against people of the Northeast. That was just one of several such incidents across the country that gave rise to serious doubts over whether India is yet to make the Northeasterners its own.

In 2007, the Delhi Police had published a booklet advising migrants from the Northeast to avoid wearing “revealing clothes” and cooking native recipes (e.g., those including bamboo shoots) because it might annoy their Indian neighbours with unfamiliar smells.

Assam-based author Mitra Phukan tells TEHELKA that racial prejudice against people from hilly and densely forested regions such as the Northeast is deeply ingrained in the mind of a large section of Indians. Others like Maleem look at the alienation and prejudice as a reflection of “the structural constraints of the political in India”.

Economic backwardness intertwined with issues of identity and ethnicity has turned the problems of Northeast into a knotted tangle that has so far proved nearly impossible to unravel. Attempts to solve the complex crisis by crushing the resistance through military means have only added to the alienation and the consequent rage against the organs of the Indian State. In the bargain, a region with a high concentration of indigenous people and an amazing diversity of ethnicity and language continues to remain largely outside the ambit of Indian democracy.

United Liberation Front of Asom ()

Formed on 7 April 1979; Outlawed in 1990.

Area of Operation: Assam

Stated Goal: To liberate Assam through the armed national liberation struggle from the clutches of the illegal occupation of India

Major counterinsurgency operations: Operation Bajrang (November 1990-June 1991), Operation Rhino (September 1991-January 1992)

? In the initial years, raised the issue of illegal immigration from Bangladesh and it helped the organisation to gain popular support. It allegedly received assistance from Pakistan’s ISI (Inter Services Intelligence), Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Forces Intelligence and China’s People’s Liberation Army

? In 2003, a military operation in Bhutan dislodged many camps

? In December 2009, chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah were arrested in Bangladesh and handed over to India

? In 2010, a section of under Rajkhowa dropped the demand for Independence, paving the way for the talks with the Centre

? The first formal meeting between the government and took place in 2011

? O n 3 September 2011, a tripartite agreement for suspension of operations was reached between , the Assam government and the Centre

National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB)

Formed in 1986 as the Bodo Security Force; was renamed after rejecting the Bodoland agreement with the Centre, signed by the All Bodo Students’ Union and the Bodo People’s Action Committee.

Area of Operation: Assam

Stated Goal: A sovereign nation for the Bodos

?  The 2003 crackdown on its camps in Bhutan forced the organisation to give up its demand for Independence and agree to peace talks with the Centre within the ambit of the Indian Constitution

?  The decision to hold talks with the government led to a split in the NDFB

?  NDFB-R leader Ranjan Daimari was arrested in 2010 in Bangladesh and handed over to India; Daimari was released on after his faction agreed to drop the demand for Independence

?  The first round of talks with the pro-talk faction was held on 29 September 2009, leading to a ceasefire that has been extended several times

?  The last round of talks was held in November 2013

National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN)

Formed in January 1980.

Area of Operation: Nagaland and Manipur

Stated Goal: Establishing a sovereign nation by unifying all Naga-inhabited regions in the Northeast and Myanmar

?  The NSCN was formed in protest against the Naga National Council’s decision to accept the Indian Constitution

?  Divisions among the Nagas led to a split in the NSCN. The Konvaks clan broke away under the leadership of the Khole Konyak and SS Khaplang, leading to the formation of the NSCN (Khaplang) in 1988, while the Tangkhul clan formed the NSCN (Isak-Muivah). Each organisation accused the other of working for the Indian government

?  The NSCN-IM started peace talks with the Centre in 1997. Both sides agreed to an indefinite ceasefire

?  The NSCN-K began negotiating with the Centre after “modifying” its demand for sovereignty even as it opposed the dialogue between the NSCN-IM and the government. The Khaplang group agreed to a ceasefire in 2001 and stuck to it until April 2015

United National Liberation Front (UNLF)

Formed in 1964.

Area of Operation : Manipur

Stated Goal: A sovereign, socialist Manipur

?  The first insurgent organisation to be formed in Manipur, its armed wing is called the Manipur People’s Army

?  It was initially said to be patronised by Pakistan, which allegedly provided military training to many of its cadre. There were also reports of China extending it help

? In 2006, the UNLF came out with a four-point charter of demands, included a plebiscite under supervision on the question of Manipur’s Independence and withdrawal of Indian troops from the state. It also offered to surrender its arsenal to a peacekeeping force, but the Manipur government and the Centre rejected the proposal

People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK)

Formed in 1977.

Area of Operation: Manipur

Stated Goal: A sovereign Manipur

? The organisation split in the 1980s due to factionalism. Some of the splinter groups merged with other insurgent outfits

? PREPAK later engaged in campaigns against “social evils” such as alcoholism, and drug addiction

? In 2007, the organisation set itself the deadline of 2015 to achieve its objective, failing which it claimed it would leave the path of armed revolution

? PREPAK has strategic relations with the UNLF

Kangeli Yaol Kanna Lup (KYKL)

Formed in 1994.

Area of Operation: Manipur

Stated Goal: A utopian Manipuri society “free of all vices”

? The organisation split in 1996 into two factions, one led by Noonikam Oken and the other by Achu Toijamaba, and reunited in 2002

? It is believed that it runs several camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar

Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC)

Formed in 1995; Outlawed in 2000.

Area of Operation: Meghalaya (Garo Hills) and Assam (Kamrup and Goalpara districts)

Stated Goal: A sovereign homeland for the Garo tribe

? In 2004 the outfit signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre, which was extended indefinitely in 2008

 

(Published in Tehelka Magazine, Volume 12 Issue 26, Dated 27 June 2015) the author can be reached at bhoopesh@tehelka.com

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/06/how-to-create-enemies-and-alienate-people/

DRCM – IRCS Chandel Mission 2015 Report

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/06/drcm-ircs-chandel-mission-2015-report/

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Chadonang partially submerged, villagers lament government`s attitude

IMPHAL, June 17: A media team visiting Chadonang Village in Ukhrul district had to use boats to wade through the water which had already started submerging large parts of paddy

Villagers posed behind a banner demanding review of Mapithel Dam before its construction.

Villagers posed behind a banner demanding review of Mapithel Dam before its construction.

IMPHAL, June 17: A media team visiting Chadonang Village in Ukhrul district had to use boats to wade through the water which had already started submerging large parts of paddy fields in the village.

Large parts of paddy fields in the surrounding area have been submerged in water reportedly ever since the Mapithel Dam Watergates were closed on January 15 this year.

Villagers of Chadonang, Thawai, Riha and Ramrei convened a public meeting today at Chadonang Village wherein the villagers also resorted to sloganeering and demanded `Don`™t evict us by force,` `Review Mapithel Dam first, construct later,` etc.

In the name of development, the government has cut off the livelihood of the villagers, lamented Chadonang Village chief Wungnaoyo.

He said the paddy fields which provide the villagers who are mostly farmers with their livelihood are already submerged in water and it is very likely that water would soon enter the houses.

Wungnaoyo also said that the villagers are not against the construction of the Mapithel Dam, but are against the fact that the expert committee formed to determine the compensation for the affected people is yet to submit its report. The committee is suppose to determine the compensation to be paid for the affected homesteads, land, forest, paddy fields, etc. he said.

At the same time, a case against the construction of the Mapithel Dam is still pending before the Manipur High Court and the National Green Tribunal, he continued.

We are not against developmental works, but the affected villagers should be properly compensated, he continued.

`Treat us like humans,` Wungnaoyo lamented before adding we are also people of the land.

Deteriorating livelihood in the name of development is a serious issue noted Citizen Concern for Dam and Development, CCDD Convenor Yumnam Jiten and said that previous dams constructed in the State all have failed drastically in their purposes.

He said Mapithel Dam will submerge more than 595 hectares of land.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/06/chadonang-partially-submerged-villagers-lament-governments-attitude/